ABC Locally Televised Hoops In New York

By Josh Albarran – February 24, 2013

On Saturday at Noon ET, WABC-TV (Channel 7), the ABC Television Network’s owned-and-operated and flagship station in New York City aired a NCAA College basketball game between Seton Hall and No. 4 Louisville. It was the first time that a regular season hoops game would aired on that station since they last aired as part of the network’s regular-season coverage (those games would moved to sister channel ESPN following the end of the 2008-09 season). That game was produced by ESPN, but was not nationally televised by ABC (it was streaming broadcast instead on ESPN3.com via WatchESPN) while they continued to air the final hour of its Litton’s Weekend Adventure children’s programming block on the rest of its stations. ABC currently holds the rights to air the semi-finals and the championship of the SEC Men’s College Basketball Tournament, which will take place in March, in fact ESPN had took over ABC’s sports operations since the 2006 merger by their parent company Disney.

SportsCenter's Linda Cohn to Speak at OSU

By Josh Albarran

ESPN's SportsCenter anchor Linda Cohn will probably be speaking at Oklahoma State University on March 4th for the Women's Sports Media Club.

Cohn was originally to scheduled to speak for next week, but it was postponed because of her recent short absents at the Worldwide Leader and speaking of that, she hasn't appeared on ESPN since she co-anchored the 11 p.m. ET edition of SportsCenter on the night after the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl XLVII victory. This might be the third time since late August of 2012 that Cohn would be homesick from her TV and radio work.

An OSU spokeswoman said in their press release (http://www.ocolly.com/news/osu/article_93103362-7c9d-11e2-b794-001a4bcf6878.html) that “I contacted her agent, Bob Phillip, and he and I have been corresponding,” Thomas said. “She originally planned on coming Feb. 28 and something came up so we had to kind of re-hash everything to make it work.”

It will be known that the homesick Cohn would return to host SportsCenter when she's 100% ready to break the ice, now entering her 21st year at Bristol, Connecticut and she's an 53-year old sportscaster who is an die-hard fan of the New York Rangers, Giants and Mets. Now I know I'll followed Linda at Twitter (http://twitter.com/lindacohn) and I read her book Cohn-Head: A No-Holds Barred Account of Breaking Into the Boy's Club (order it at LindaCohn.net), but as Cohn always said when she started SportsCenter, why wait?!!

UPDATE (03/05/13): Cohn returned to ESPN last Friday morning after 25 days filling-in for Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio's The Herd as well as anchoring SportsCenter during the weekend and she will be at Oklahoma State this Thursday afternoon to speak to their students scheduled for 2:30pm local time (3:30pm ET).

Josh Albarran reporting for TV SportsNews

Impact Of Blizzard Nemo Cause Program Changes On SportsCenter

By Josh Albarran

In the impact of a blizzard effecting the state of Connecticut (including ESPN’s world headquarters in Bristol). Only three editions of SportsCenter were scheduled for Saturday instead seven editions including the 11pm ET show (which was cancelled due to a blizzard). Michael Kim and Todd Grisham first anchored the broadcast from 1pm till 5pm, when they handed it over to Don Bell and Jade McCarthy until 10pm ET when Stan Verrett anchored solo from Los Angeles to end the night. The 10am, 6pm, 8pm, 11pm and 1am shows were canceled due to both the aftermath of Winter Storm Nemo and the absents of many SportsCenter anchors. On Friday, both the 8pm and 11pm ET shows were canceled as ESPNews re-aired the 6pm SportsCenter with Lindsay Czarniak and Bram Weinstien from 8-11pm while Verrett anchored solo on the 11pm hour in addition to the regular 1am broadcast from Los Angeles. ESPN Front Row reported on the program changes for both Friday and Saturday shows on their website (http://frontrow.espn.go.com/2013/02/espns-winter-storm-nemo-preparations-underway/#more-50030). ESPN hopes to resume all live editions of SportsCenter from Bristol on a regularly-normal basis and most of their anchors returning to work at the campus starting on Sunday.

ESPN at the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship

ESPN at the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship

College GameDay to be at site of the Final Four and the National Championship

All games to be herd on ESPN Radio in New York Chicago

Monday, March 12, 2012


ESPN will feature all the complete coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship from the 2012 tournament during ESPN and ESPN2 programming and across its platforms, including SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, ESPNEWS, ESPN.com, WatchESPN and ESPN International. From the First Four and Second and Third Round, to the Final Four and the National Championship game.

SportsCenter and College GameDay will have the complete coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (which airs on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV). SportsCenter will had highlights, analysis and recap throughout the tournament with anchors Steve Levy, Scott Van Pelt, Jay Harris, John Anderson, Linda Cohn and Stuart Scott, while the College GameDay crew led by Rece Davis, Hubert Davis, Digger Phelps, Jay Blias and Dick Vitale will had reaction from the games during the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. editions and on College GameDay Scoreboard (on ESPN2). College GameDay will air on March 15-16 at 4 p.m. on ESPN with highlights, latest scores, analysis and live press conference from the second round.

As part of the NCAA’s new multi-year agreement with ESPN in late December, College GameDay and SportsCenter will be at the site of the Final Four and the National Championship for the first time as ESPN will had extensive coverage of the Final Four and the National Championship from New Orleans on SportsCenter at the Final Four on Saturday, March 31st (anchored by Linda Cohn and Bram Weinstien at 11 p.m. ET) and Monday, April 2nd (anchored by Linda Cohn and Robert Flores at 11 p.m.-12 a.m. ET) respecting with the College GameDay crew anchored the coverage from New Orleans with highlights, analysis, reaction, live press conference and exclusive interviews.

All of ESPN programming is also available streaming live on WatchESPN.com and on the WatchESPN app. ESPN International will air the entire NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship (including the Final Four and the National Championship) across Latin America (Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America), the Middle East and Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands, Europe, Japan and Canada (via TSN). ESPN.com will feature news, scores and videos from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship.

ESPN Radio, available to 750 affiliated stations across the country, will have NCAA content during their programming throughout the tournament including Mike and Mike in the Morning (6 a.m.-10 a.m.), The Herd with Colin Cowherd (10 a.m.-1 p.m.), The Scott Van Pelt Show (1 p.m.-4 p.m.), The Doug Gottlieb Show (4 p.m.-7 p.m.) and Hill & Schlereth (7 p.m.-10 p.m.). ESPN Radio SportsCenter will provide updates and scores from the Men’s Basketball Championship every 30 minutes. In addition, ESPN Radio’s owned-and-operated stations in New York and Chicago will carry all games from the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Tournament (via Dial Global Sports/Westwood One Radio Network).

ESPN Inc.
ESPN, Inc., is the world's leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of more than 50 multimedia sports assets. The company comprises seven 24-hour domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes and ESPN 3D). ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS HD are simulcast services. Other businesses include ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (46 networks, syndication, radio, websites), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN3.com (broadband sports network) ESPN Mobile,ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN PPV and other growing new businesses, including ESPN on Demand and ESPN Interactive. Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.

Fox outbids ESPN for World Cup in 2018 and 2022
By Joshua Albarran - Friday, October 21, 2011

Linda Cohn announced on SportsCenter that ESPN had lost the World Cup to Fox starting in 2015.

SportsCenter anchor Linda Cohn said that “The FIFA World Cup in 2018 and 2022 will be televised by Fox”, it was announced during a live edition of the 9am SportsCenter on Friday that Fox Sports (a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company and owned by News Corporation) had outbid ESPN (owned by The Walt Disney Company, which also owns ABC) and NBC (a division of NBCUniversal Media, LLC owned by Comcast and General Electric) for English rights to televised the 2018 and 2022 World Cup, Women’s World Cup in 2015 and 2019 and other FIFA events, Telemundo (also owned by NBCUniversal) had also outbid its rival competitor Univision for Spanish rights to televised FIFA events from 2015 to 2022.

Fox Sports will provide coverage of all FIFA events on the Fox television network, FX, Fox Soccer, Fox Soccer Plus, FSN and Fox Deportes starting in 2015 while Telemundo will provide coverage on the Telemundo broadcast network and mun2.

Fox has broadcast the UEFA Champions League final since 2010 and has shown some matches from Barclays Premiere League on Sundays during the NFL season since 2011 when there’s no doubleheader and will broadcast the “game before the game” during Super Bowl Sunday on February 5, 2012 at 10:30am ET/8:30am PT, Fox also owns the Fox Soccer network, as well as premium channel Fox Soccer Plus.

As for ESPN, has broadcast the World Cup on both ESPN and ABC since 1982, recently, ESPN/ABC has televised the World Cup from South Africa in 2010 and Women’s World Cup from Germany in 2011. ESPN and ABC will broadcast its next World Cup coverage from Brazil in 2014. Now with the new deal between FIFA, Fox and Telemundo, however, ESPN will continue to provide highlights of these FIFA matches and the World Cup on SportsCenter and other ESPN programming after 2014 and beyond.

ESPN has extending contracts to broadcast the NFL Monday Night Football, Wimbledon (which brought the entire broadcast rights from NBC), ACC, 22 Pac-12 football games (beginning in 2012) and others like launching the Longhorn Network for college sports in Texas and the Pam American Games on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, while Fox signed new contracts to broadcast Pac-12 football (beginning in 2012), college football on FX, Conference-USA, all 40 Big 12 football games, the Big Ten Championship Game and UFC.

If does not sure that who is the dominate sports network on cable television, we know that ESPN/ABC is the most powerful sports network in United States, but can it be more stronger against three other major broadcast sports divisions like Fox, NBC and CBS? Than you will have to stay tuned to the networks that you want to watch your favorite sporting events and your favorite teams.

Cardinals wins Game 7, ESPN and Fox on the scene
By Joshua Albarran – Tuesday, November 2, 2011

With the St. Louis Cardinals won their 11th World Series title in franchise history after beating the Texas Rangers in Game 7 at Busch Stadium last Friday, Fox and ESPN was on the scene of this historic World Series victory for the “Red Bird” team.

Across FOX Sports, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver call their 14th straight World Series together for the Fox network, as always since MLB first arrived at Fox back in 1996, while Chris Rose, Eric Karros and AJ Pierzynski were hosting the network’s pre and post-game reports, Fox were go on to win that night and was No. 1 in all of demographics beating ABC’s 20/20 special with Barbara Walters on billionaires, according to the FOX Sports Media Group’s press release, “FOX averaged a 14.5 household rating and 25 million viewers between 8 and 11 PM ET to earn the network its highest-rated and most-watched Friday night ever”. FOX Sports also announced that “The World Series remains an annual force in prime time. Game 7's dominating performance (14.5) also powered FOX to first place finishes in prime time six out of 7 nights the 2011 "Fall Classic" was broadcast. Since 1996 when FOX began airing World Series games, the network has won 64 out of 75 prime time nights, an incredible 85% performance”. This year’s World Series would be one of the highest rating World Series in history, including the 1996 New York Yankees winning their 1st World Series title in 19 years or the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks’ 1st World Series title in franchise history, both series was also televised on FOX.


Over at the Worldwide Leader, the 11:00pm SportsCenter with Linda Cohn and Robert Flores, provides full coverage with highlights, analysis and post-game interviews from Baseball Tonight with host Karl Ravech, John Kruk, Barry Larkin and Curt Schilling, while Chris Berman and Bobby Valentine were anchoring inside the Busch, as they interviewed players from the winning team, including Jason Motte and Albert Pujols. Berman, on a Friday night that he would hosted his “2 Minute Drill” every week on SportsCenter throughout the NFL season, was able to anchored the coverage for Game 7 of the World Series and because Berman had hosted ESPN’s coverage of the annual Home Run Derby, some regular season games and the first 2 postseason games from the Division Games for ESPN Radio since MLB debuted on ESPN in 1990.

ESPN and Fox Sports (and TBS) are doing are a great job on only not covering the World Series, but the entire 2011 MLB season, it has been a heck of a baseball season this year, can't wait for 2012 when Major League Baseball reopens its doors for the next season.

Wimbledon Moves to ESPN Full-Time in 2012

Wimbledon signs a 12-year deal with ESPN

By Joshua Albarran

July 5, 2011 – Bristol, CT – it was announced on Tuesday that ESPN have acquired the exclusive United States television rights to The Championships, Wimbledon as part of a 12-year agreement with the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Starting next year in 2012, all live matches will be seen on both ESPN2 and ESPN, while The ABC Television Network will broadcast a 3-hour highlight show on the "Middle Sunday" of the tournament, and a rebroadcast from both women’s and men’s finals on both Saturday and Sunday at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT.

NBC has been the U.S. broadcast home of Wimbledon since 1969, decided not to retain those rights following this year’s finals ends. Two months ago, NBC outbids ESPN and ABC for the NHL, and then a month later, the Olympics. Now that the Disney-owned sports network has regain its strategy against NBCUniversal’s new owner Comcast by taking the entire Wimbledon away from NBC under a new deal. ESPN is owned by The Walt Disney Company, which also owns ABC.

the announced was then featured on the 6 p.m. edition of SportsCenter with Jay Harris, and then on the 11 p.m. broadcast with Linda Cohn, reminder to sports fans that ESPN has got the entire Wimbledon under a new agreement.

ESPN2 also broadcast the U.S. Open with CBS Sports, and sharing the rights of both Australian Open and the French Open with The Tennis Channel.

Wimbledon is the latest major sports event move to cable from broadcast television when ESPN moved the Bowl Championship Series from Fox in 2010, while coverage of every NCAA March Madness tournament games on Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting networks with CBS starting in 2016.

ESPN will present Wimbledon on its multimedia array of platforms, including both ESPN and ESPN2 simultaneously the second Monday-Wednesday. This will allow for expanded coverage of the Round of 16 and live telecasts of all quarterfinals. ESPN will televise the semifinals and finals. ABC will broadcast a three-hour highlights show on the “middle Sunday” of the tournament, and will reair the finals on a same-day basis at 3 pm ET.

In addition, ESPN3.com will carry all live matches at least 750 hours by simulcast both ESPN and ESPN2’s broadcast of the Wimbledon, ESPN have aired almost 100 television hours since 2003 with another 650 hours on ESPN3.com will be extended starting next year with both semifinals and finals, and a extended 140 television hours on the ESPN/ABC networks.

"We are proud to have been a partner of The All England Club the past nine years and are thrilled to be given continuing responsibility for honoring Wimbledon’s rich tradition. Over the next 12 years, we'll work closely together to move coverage of this great event forward with live coverage on television and using all the latest technologies and screens," said George Bodenheimer, president, ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports, and co-chairman, Disney Media Networks.

“We are delighted to be extending our partnership with ESPN, in a move which will consolidate our U.S. media rights under the auspices of a single partner. This new agreement will bring increased live coverage of The Championships and ensure that the huge international audience for Wimbledon can now enjoy all the drama and colour of the Fortnight through a sustained narrative delivered with clarity, continuity and consistency across a wide range of platforms,” said Ian Ritchie, Chief Executive of The All England Lawn Tennis Club.

“We are proud of our 43-year partnership with the All England Club, and while we would have liked to have continued our relationship, we were simply outbid,” said Comcast’s NBCUniversal on ending its long-time relationship with Wimbledon.

Currently, in addition to an already extensive TV schedule on ESPN, ESPN2 and The ABC Television Network, ESPN’s Wimbledon rights include live matches on ESPN3.com (with the semifinals and finals available on delay), ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Interactive TV, the WatchESPNApp, ESPNNetworks.com and Spanish-language ESPN Deportes, as well as distribution to 30 million homes in Latin America via ESPN International and in Canada via TSN. In addition, ESPN.com has extensive reporting with news, analysis and video from Wimbledon, ESPN The Magazine previews the competition while ESPN Classic shows great matches from the past and ESPN 3D aired its first tennis at this year’s Championships, plus, live look-in updates and branded segments on SportsCenter and ESPNews.

Since 2009, ESPN has aired all four Grand Slam events, something no other U.S. network has ever done. ESPN has presented the Australian Open since 1984, the French Open since 2002 (plus 1986 – 1993), Wimbledon since 2003 and the US Open since 2009. ESPN debuted September 7, 1979, and the first tennis telecast was exactly one week later, September 14, a Davis Cup tie, Argentina at U.S. from Memphis with Cliff Drysdale on the call and John McEnroe playing.

Follow Josh on Twitter at @JoshX1993.